The LA Times recently chatted with Billy Crystal about the upcoming Pixar film, Monsters University. As you most likely know, he voices the rib-tickling, cyclopean Mike Wazowski.
Crystal had this to say of the film:
That’s why I’m a little hoarse. I spent five-and-a-half hours today for our fourth session on ‘Monsters Inc. 2.’ And I have to tell you something, it is hilarious. The Pixar people are geniuses. It’s 10 years since the first movie. Yeah, it’s crazy. And it’s a prequel. They’re in college. It’s how they met, it’s how Michael and Sulley meet, and plan to become scarers at Monsters Inc. — so this movie ends where the other one starts . . . It’s college pranks with monsters. And I wear a retainer. Mike has a retainer.
I can't wait to see it! Monsters, Inc. is my favorite Pixar film, and I'm very excited to see the prequel. I'll have to wait a few more years, though, since Monsters University doesn't come out until June 21, 2013.
Disney/Pixar has just released the above hi-res logo (desktop wallpaper, anyone?) and the following title treatment/synopsis:
Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan are an inseparable pair, but that wasn’t always the case. From the moment these two mismatched monsters met they couldn't stand each other. Monsters University unlocks the door to how Mike and Sulley overcame their differences and became the best of friends.
The film will be a prequel to Monsters, Inc., and will feature Billy Crystal and John Goodman reprising their roles.
Very exciting! Monsters, Inc. has always been my favorite Pixar film, and I can't wait to see what they do with the prequel...
It will be released on June 21, 2013, and be directed by Dan Scanlon (story artist and writer on Cars) and produced by Kori Rae (The Incredibles, Toy Story 2, Up, Monsters, Inc., A Bug's Life).
Disney has just confirmed at the CinemaCon theater industry show in Las Vegas that on Novermber 2, 2012, we'll all be treated to the lovable antics of Mike, Sulley, and all of our favorite monsters once again.Well, maybe not all of the monsters...
After all, the announcement also revealed that it will, as leaked by rumors some time ago, be a prequel to Monsters, Inc., and be titled Monsters University.
The movie will follow Mike Wazowski and James. P. Sullivan at Monstropolis' University of Fear. As put by Disney's executive vice president of worldwide distribution Dave Hollis:
Obviously everybody knows at this point Mike and Sulley are amazing friends—the best of friends—but as it turns out, in this story, that wasn’t always the case. From the moment they met at university, they could not stand each other. This story takes you through the ups and downs, and how they overcame their own differences.
Of course, Billy Crystal and John Goodman will reprise their roles of Mike and Sulley, and even Buscemi's Randall is going to be making an appearance.
I am very excited to see this new Monsters film! Although I wish Pixar would focus more on original stories (like the upcoming film, Brave), Monsters, Inc. is my favorite Pixar film, so I'm naturally incredibly excited for its prequel.
As stated before, it will be released on November 12 of next year, and I can't wait!
Variety has just announced that Disney will release Pixar's long-anticipated Monsters, Inc. sequel on November 16, 2012. Pete Docter will work on it but won't direct since he is working on an original feature. The film will, of course, star John Goodman and Billy Crystal. That's all we know for now.
While I prefer that Pixar does original material, I am looking forward to a sequel to my favorite Pixar film of all time.
I'll keep you updated as this very exciting news develops!
Rich Ross also announced that the upcoming Pixar feature Brave (formerly The Bear and The Bow) will be released on June 15, 2012. It is very rare that Pixar would release two films in the same year, but, there it is. And I can't wait.
(The above photo is unofficial, and the title is currently unknown.)
The Creative Screenwriter Magazine's Podcast recently interviewed Up and Monsters, Inc. director Pete Docter. The entire podcast is very interesting, and I recommedn hearing all of it, but the most fascinating part was when Pete revealed his original pitch for my favorite Pixar movie, Monsters, Inc. And believe me, this film turned out quite differently than originally intended:
Well, my idea was that what it was about was about a 30 year old man who is like an accountant or something, he hates his job, and one day he gets a book with some drawings in it that he did when he was a kid from his mom, and he doesn't think anything of it and he puts it on the shelf and that night, monsters show up. And nobody else can see them. He thinks he's starting to go crazy, they follow him to his job, and on his dates, and all this- and it turns out these monsters are fears that he never dealt with as a kid. And each one of them represents a different kind of fear. As he conquers those fears, the guys who he slowly becomes kind of friends with- they disappear as he conquers those fears. It's this bittersweet kinda ending where they go away, and so not much of that stayed...it sounds better as a pitch than it did at the time- anyway.
As you can see, they must have reworked the story hundreds, if not thousands, of times to get to what we eventually know and love as Monsters, Inc. Very interesting.
In addition to this recent audio interview, Pete Docter also did an interview with the New York Entertainment section Vulture about his work. He had this to say:
I’m mostly focused on the next film that I have in development already. ...I just started. We finished Up, I took some time off, spent some time in Europe and Japan doing publicity over there, so I’ve only been on this for like a couple weeks," he says
When asked if this upcoming work was the long-rumored sequel to Monsters, Inc., Docter replied:
"I'm not working on [it]... I'm working on something else, but I cannot announce what it is."
The fact that he is not working on it makes me want to think that perhaps the sequel is indeed in the works, just not headed by Docter. Especially since there is a lot of evidence that points to a sequel for Sulley and Mike. Also, what is this secret project of Docter's that should be released around 2013/2014? Whatever it is, I'm sure that it will be wonderful, and I cannot wait to see what it will be. Read the great and complete interview right here.
With Up's release far behind us and Toy Story 3's release getting nearer but still far off, the Pixar news is beginning to shift in favor of new things. To prove my point, here is the big news; Jim Hill Media has discovered that the domain of monsters2.com has been recently picked up by Disney. This could only mean one thing: a Monsters, Inc. sequel! The site contains nothing right now, as does any other news regarding the previously-rumored sequel. But, as if that wasn't exciting enough, the Mouse has also purchased the following, very intriguing domains (each with several variations):
WorldWarRobotTheMovie.com (and other variations)
BeverlyHillsChihuahuaTwo.com
OhSayCanYouPee.com
MaryPoppinsOffer.com
SnowWhiteLowPrice.com
And, the weirdest... The TigerKing.com
Ponyo, the latest from genius Hayao Miyazaki, has its full-length trailer right here for you to see. It is a re-telling of the Hans Christian Andersen tale The Little Mermaid, although this tale is one of a goldfish who wishes to become human and finally gets his wish granted. Watch the trailer above. The film will be released later this month, courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures, and will feature the voice talents of Noah Cyrus, Frankie Jonas, Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Cloris Leachman, Liam Neeson, Lily Tomlin and Betty White.
Here is a picture straight from Lee Unkrich's (director of Toy Story 3's) Twitpic page. It is pretty cool: a countdown of Toy Story 3's release.
That's about all the updates there are for now... Except one last thing I will leave you with. If you have any love or interest in early Disney ventures and things, you will find the story of Carl Stalling very interesting--I discovered it only a few days ago and was very surprised. Although he is famous for his wonderful arrangements and scores he wrote for Looney Tunes (where he wrote a score a week for 22 years), that isn't where the musical genius got started. He broke into showbiz when he befriended a young and bright-eyed Walt Disney who needed a composer for Plane Crazy and Gallopin' Gaucho. Stalling fit the bill and got the job. Disney and Carl then went on to discuss whether the animation or music should come first; this led to the breakthrough of Silly Symphonies where Stalling wrote the music before the animation took place. This seems very odd, but is very interesting when you think about it. Later on, in 1936, Stalling left with his friend from his Disney Days, Iwerks, to go work for Warner Bros. and Leon Schlesinger...
Blue Sky Disney has released more information about a potential Monsters, Inc. sequel. Back in July there were some more rumors concerning a possible sequel, but, according to Blue Sky Disney, the sequel is all but confirmed by Pete Docter (the probable director due to his directing of the first Monsters). The supposed release date will be some time in 2013.
I don't think that this rumor is too far fetched. Afterall, Pixar is doing a lot of sequels already Cars 2, Toy Story 3...). I think that a sequel to Monsters, Inc. has a lot of potential, especially when executed by the geniuses at Pixar. I guess we won't know for about another year or so when the definitive announcement is made, if it is made at all, by Pixar.
Pixar is definitely the best animation studio on the planet. As such, it has a lot of news and buzz around it. Here are some of the news stories and updates for today:
Update 1: Here are some UP pictures taken at Comic-Con 2008. These were photographs taken at a presentation by Pixar. They were then cropped and enhanced in photoshop. Astounding.
Update 2: An interview with Pete Docter from MTV hints at a Monsters, Inc. sequel. This hint is a lot similar to the hint dropped by Iger on the idea of a Cars sequel. Everything points to a Monsters, Inc. 2! Here's the link to the interview. And, yes, they misspelled Docter's name as "Doctor".
Hopefully, more will be announced about UP as its release draws near. I also hope that more on Monsters, Inc. 2 is announced as well. All of this news will be posted as it is announced.
Hi. My name is Adam and I love to write and to read. I shoot and go to a lot of movies. I am an avid collector of Disneyland souvenirs, Pixar stuff, celebrity photographs, and everything else.
